Bernard Dunne may now meet Englishman Esham Pickering with a European title up for grabs after reports surfaced this week that reigning champ Michael Hunter had relinquished his title.
Dunne's camp had been working behind the scenes for the last few months in an attempt to get Hunter to defend his title against the 'Irish Rover' in Dublin before Christmas.
However European Boxing Union (EBU) chiefs yesterday advised that the Englishman had relinquished his belt to concentrate on a world title tilt.
Dunne and Pickering have now been pencilled in to meet for the vacant European title.
The deadline for purse bids for the fight is October 11, in Rome at 12 noon (Italian time).
Hunter was dropped twice by Pickering in a European title fight in 2005, but got up to win the 12-round decider.
